Books to promote healthy eating

I was on Caryn Hartglass's It's All About Food radio show today talking about helping kids and families to eat more healthfully. She asked me about my job as a library technician at an elementary school library. She wanted to know what books would I recommend to promote healthful eating . Well, the first one that popped into my head was Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Suess--I like the message of not being afraid to try to new foods. Later, as I thought over the show, it hit me that encouringing kids to eat green eggs and ham might have offended listeners who were most likely vegetarian or vegan. I was thinking though . . . since the ham is green, perhaps it's veggie ham???? Anyway, while I stand by the message of encouraging kids to try new foods in that book, here are some more veg-friendly titles you might want to try with your kids:

I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child
Monsters Don't Eat Broccoli by Barbara Jean Hicks
Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Gregory, the Terrible Eater by Mitchell Sharmot (not vegetarian but still a good one)
To Market, To Market by Anne MIranda (one of my favorites . . . funny, promotes whole foods and not eating animals)
Making Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert
Grow It, Cook It by Jill Bloomfield
Eat Healthy, Feel Great by William Sears

And for kids' cookbooks, we love Mollie Katzen's books like Honest Pretzels, etc.

I'm sure there are lots more out there, but here are a few off the top of my head. Feel free to comment with other suggestions.

Happy Halloween

Here I am as Tacky the Penguin from the story by Helen Lester.

If you have young kids and are looking for tips to keep down the Halloween candy consumption, check out my post from last year about The Halloween Fairy!

Book Review: Bean Appetit

Bean Appétit is packed with creative ways to make healthy foods not only delicious but fun. The dishes are so bright, colorful, and creative, they’re more like art than meals. Like the “High Note Nibbles” sandwiches, for example, that look like a piano keyboard. Or the “Bug Bites”—dragonfly-shaped pitas sandwiches made with fruit, turkey, and a pickle. The almost florescent-purple “Starry Night Bites” are made from berries and sticky rice and adorned with cheese stars. But my favorite was “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” which looks like the character from the book by Eric Carle. Chicken-and-vegetable-stuffed spring rolls form the body with a big tomato as a head and pretzel sticks as legs. It’s so cute and sounds really tasty. There are many more fun creations for parents and children to make together—with lots that don’t even require any cooking.

The recipes and language in Bean Appétit are appropriate for the preschool crowd. Directions to “Shake your hips and get ready to mix:” or “Roll around on the floor while chanting ‘Go bananas’ will be fun for young children, but may turn off older kids. Interspersed between the recipes are silly conversation starters, such as “Who do you know has the silliest singing voice?” or “Would you rather share your sleeping bag with a bat or a bear?” There are games like “Flash Dance” (a flashlight dancing game) and food related trivia like “Table Manners from Other Countries.” The book is bright and appealing with whimsical illustrations and colorful photographs. This would be great for parents of preschoolers and preschool or kindergarten teachers.

Book Review: That's Why We Don't Eat Animals

Check out my review of the great new picture book -- yup, that's right picture book -- That's Why We Don't Eat Animals.

Vegetarian Thanksgiving

VegFamily Magazine has some great info to make your vegetarian Thanksgiving great.

Check out my article on vegan lasagnas: http://vegfamily.com/whole-family/vegan-lasagna.htm

Everyyear, I pore through the thanksgiving book display at the library looking for books where no one is eating a turkey. Here is a list of children's books that promote a meatless thanksgiving: http://www.vegfamily.com/vegan-children/vegan-thanksgiving-stories.htm

Also, check out my book review of "In Season: Cooking with Vegetables and Fruit." It's not vegetarian, but has some wonderful recipes: http://www.vegfamily.com/book-reviews/in-season.htm

Also, check out these Thanksgiving suggestions from one of my past blogs: http://catheolson.blogspot.com/2006_11_01_archive.html